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New Jersey Waitress Receives A ‘LOL’ Tip, Rants On Facebook And Challenges The Wages Laws For Servers

By Chrissie Williams
Published on: 15:37 PST, Jul 2, 2016

A New Jersey waitress took to Facebook to post a rant after a customer writes “LOL’ as her tip on a credit card slip, according to E! News. The post went viral and sparked a debate about tipping and if you should tip if you are unhappy with the service at a restaurant. The waitress complained that she depended on her tips to support herself since her checks were often only pocket change, due to the fact that she has to pay her income and state taxes.

The New Jersey waitress, Jess Jones, served a party of eight. They paid their check of a little over $112 without any complaints, but what they wrote as her tip sent the young server reeling.

They wrote, “LOL.” She was offended knowing that they were laughing at the thought she deserved a tip for her service. She noted she would have preferred if they left her a zero on that line. Jess didn’t think her service matched the “LOL” in the tip line on the credit card receipt. Was Ms. Jones right in getting offended by this “tip”?

On the credit card slip, they also wrote that it took over an hour for the food. Jess noted that it was a busy night at the restaurant, and it wasn’t her fault. She pointed out that she spent an hour of her time getting to know her guests, befriending them, and making sure all their needs are met, so naturally, Jess felt this was inappropriate, and felt she deserved 10-20 percent of the check dollar amount ($12-25).

“Last night, I was stunned by this receipt that was left for me by a party of eight people. I would have preferred a ‘$0’ tip than a ‘LOL’ tip, but as a waitress, bad tips and harsh notes are all part of the job. Even though they did wait an hour to eat, they remained satisfied with filled drinks and proper notice that the kitchen was a bit busier than normal. I’ve worked in the service industry for five years and I take pride in providing great service to my customers.”

Jess went on to rant that in New Jersey, wait staff make $2.50 and depend on tips to make a living. The fact that they wrote LOL on the tip line displayed they were not happy with her service and held her responsible. She noted in her Facebook post that they didn’t appear to be unhappy while dining, only upset about the time the food took to be delivered to the table. She blamed the cooks for the kitchen being backed up and claimed she provided the food as quickly as possible.

It does seem rather unfair that the kitchen was backed up, and the server paid the price for it by receiving no tip for her time. Maybe the answer is to stop paying waitresses such a low wage and do away with tips altogether.

“Most of my paychecks are less than pocket change because I have to pay taxes on the tips I make. I need tips to pay my bills. All waiters do. We spend an hour or more of our time befriending you, making you laugh, getting to know you, and making your dining experience the best it can be. We work hard, and we really do care.”

Did the customers cross the line by writing “LOL” on the tip line? Is it okay not to tip if you feel like the service was lacking? Do you think restaurants should pay wait staff more, so they don’t rely on tips to pay their bills? Stick with the Inquisitr for more news and updates.

[Photo By Shutterstock]

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